upStream v1.6: Blogs and Twitter Support
The newest release of upStream – version 1.6 – is on the Android Market now!
With upStream, we’ve always focused on allowing you to share photos quickly and easily, and the newest version brings another big improvement in this regard. upStream was able to add photos to photosets and groups from the very beginning, but with version 1.6, you now can also automatically post your photo to a blog or a Twitter feed. To do this, you first have to visit Flickr’s Your Blogs page, accessible from the “Sharing and Extending” section in your Flickr account. There, you can link your Flickr account to your blogs or your Twitter account. Once your blogs are linked to Flickr, they will be displayed in the new “Blogs” item in upStream’s main window and from there, you can select one or more blogs to publish your photo to. Touch the “Upload” button and your photo will be uploaded to Flickr and automatically posted to your chosen blog or Twitter account. It’s just that simple.
upStream v1.5: Upload Presets
It’s all very simple; if you’re familiar with Adobe Lightroom’s develop presets, you’ll feel right at home. First, set up the settings that you want to save in upStream’s main window. Then, touch the “Menu” button and select “Save Settings.” Give your preset a name, select the settings you want to include in the preset (licensing, privacy, geolocation, etc), and touch “OK.” When you want to apply your preset, touch the “Menu” button, select “Apply Settings,” and choose your saved preset. The “Apply Settings” dialog will also let you set a preset as upStream’s default by touching-and-holding an entry, applying it to all images sent to Flickr using upStream.
In addition, we’ve spent a long time tweaking upStream from the bottom up. There’s a number of other changes included in the new version, but we won’t bore you with the details here. If you’re interested, the full changelog is posted here.
We’ve also been informed of a crash affecting upStream users using HTC phones with the Sense UI and Android 2.1 (e.g. the Droid Incredible, the HTC Desire, the HTC Legend, and a few others). The solution was hard-won, but upStream version 1.5 resolves all known stability issues.
The next version of upStream is already in development. This version will represent a slight departure from what we’ve done with upStream in the past, but we’re sure a great many of you will find it useful. The planned addition is not something we’ve been able to do before, and we’re really excited about expanding upStream’s scope in a useful way. Stay tuned: this one is coming soon.
Finally, a quick note on Stream – Hooligan Software’s Flickr viewer. We’ve officially re-started serious development and it’s looking very good. As always, we’ll keep you updated here and (more regularly) at our Facebook page.
We Love You Too!
Work on the next version of upStream is progressing well. upStream version 1.5 will include a big feature that a few of you have asked for, as well as even more improvements to performance. Look for it soon!
upStream v1.4.1 and other matters
An update to upStream version 1.4 is now on the Android Market! This update addresses a few performance issues during uploading and improves overall stability.
These changes were made possible in part by the excellent feedback we’ve been receiving from our users, and in part by the new Android Market crash reporting system added by Google. This is the single biggest change Google could have made to improve the quality of Android Market applications, and it’s one we’ve been anticipating for a long time. The “Report” button has been around for a while, but the crash reports have not been made available to developers until now. With these reports in hand, we’ve been able to fix several previously unknown (to us) issues in upStream and we will continue to do so for as long as the reports come in. So if upStream crashes, touch that “Report” button – we’ll take care of it!
We’ve also been informed that the way upStream has been published to the Android Market caused it to not be accessible for some users. This problem was caused by the Market’s implementation of copy protection. Google does not make information about this system easily accessible, but Rog has a very nice writeup on the subject. This issue has now been resolved and upStream should now be available to everyone located in supported countries running Android 1.6 and newer.
In others news, Hooligan Software is now on Facebook and Twitter! These services provide a great way for us to stay in closer contact with you through more frequent updates, behind-the-scenes information, and a more direct line of communication with us and other upStream users. You can follow us on Facebook at our page and on Twitter at @hooligansoft.
Finally, it seems that the option of creating photosets that was added in version 1.1 has been hidden a little too well. If you’ve had trouble finding it, you can access it from the menu on the photoset selection screen. In an upcoming revision, it will be moved alongside the photoset list.
And for now, keep the feedback coming! We always look forward to hearing from you.
upStream v1.4
upStream version 1.4 is on the Android Market and it adds a gaggle of small improvements along with one big change.
There’s a number of updates to the user interface. The changes are fairly minor, but they do add a some depth and polish to upStream’s main window. We won’t list them all here, but they should make using upStream a little more pleasant.
The rest of the changes relate to how upStream allows you to view and set geolocation information. On the main screen, upStream will no longer display the latitude and longitude of your photo; instead, the geolocation section will show the city and state the photo’s location is set to. If the city is unknown, just the state will be shown. If the state is unknown, just the country. Hopefully, this will make upStream’s main screen a little more informative.
In addition to that, we took a close look at upStream’s map interface. Ever since upStream was first released on the Android Market, our map has been just a map. But all along, it could have been so much more! upStream v1.4 takes the first steps toward realizing the map’s full potential.
Among others, two major additions bear mention. First of all, the map now displays the photo’s embedded location, all the locations you have previously saved, and your current location; you can touch any of the markers to assign that location to your photo. Also, the map can now display a satellite view. This should make it a little easier to find locations in places where map data is sparse.
The next version of upStream is, as always, on its way. With version 1.5, we’ll start building on some of the behind-the-scenes changes made in version 1.3. In particular, we’ll add something that – in our opinion – no competent photo upload application should have to go without.
upStream v1.3
After a scenic detour through video-land, upStream version 1.3 is on the Android Market.
So what’s been added to version 1.3? Well, not a whole lot that you’ll be able to see. So what’s new in version 1.3? Without getting mired in the details, the entirety of the upload process – from the time you touch the “Upload” button on – has been re-written from scratch. Among other advantages, this removes upStream’s reliance on Android’s fickle and inscrutable method of starting the upload, replacing it with something created just for our needs. So why are we releasing version 1.3 now instead of waiting for some flashy new feature? The new upload process should be much more robust and reliable, and we wanted everyone to be able to take advantage of it right away.
The next version of upStream is coming soon. If version 1.3 brought mostly behind-the-scenes changes, version 1.4 will be focused almost exclusively on adding visible features. In particular, we’re going to be filling a gap that’s been annoying us ever since the first version hit the Android Market. We don’t yet know when this new release will be finished, but we promise we won’t make you wait too long.
upStream is growing up fast. We appreciate your continued feedback and support, especially in this early stage, and we look forward to making upStream the best Flickr upload client for Android.
A Note on upStream’s Video Support
We’ve been spending a lot of time trying to add video support to upStream, and it seems that due to factors beyond our control, we are not be able to make it work as well as we’d like. So at this time, upStream will not be adding video support for the following reasons.
The Android operating system has two issues that are getting in our way. First of all, selecting both photos and videos together using the Gallery application results in only videos being sent to upStream. You can verify this behavior yourself by attempting to attach a photo and a video to a gmail message: only the video will be attached. The second issue is that upStream is not able to launch the gallery application allowing the user to pick both photos and videos at the same time. Consequently, upStream would require one button to add photos and another button to add videos. This, needless to say, is not how we want upStream to work.
Flickr adds another problem. It appears that Flickr applications are not able (likely due to a bug) to add newly-uploaded videos to groups. This issue has been reported to Flickr, but as with the Android issues, an immediate fix cannot be reasonably expected.
In the grand scheme of things, none of these are huge issues. But adding video support to upStream with these problems is not something we want to do. We will continue to follow up with both Flickr and Android development groups, and keep you informed of our progress.
upStream v1.2
upStream version 1.2 is on the Android Market right now! What does this update bring? I’m glad you asked.
With version 1.2, upStream has seen a major re-write. What does that mean? To us, it means that future development of upStream will be quicker and easier. To you, it means support for multiple photos.
Yes, upStream now allows you to edit and upload multiple photos to Flickr at the same time. If this isn’t something you wanted or planned on using, don’t worry: when working with single photos, upStream functions exactly the same way it did before. But now, after you’ve added a photo, you have the option of adding another one (and another one after that, and so on and so forth). If your phone is running Android 2.1, you can even share multiple photos with upStream right from the Gallery. Once your photos have been added, you can manipulate individual photos by touching them in the scrolling photo display at the top of the application, or you can manipulate multiple photos at the same time by selecting them using the checkboxes. And whether you’re working with one photo or more than one, you always have full editing functionality available. When you’re happy with your changes, touch the Upload button and watch them go.
upStream will let you select multiple photos for upload to Flickr and edit them with no restrictions. What other application can do that?
The next version of upStream has already been planned out and is in development. While it probably won’t bring significant user-facing features, the groundwork it lays will greatly improve the way you use upStream in the future. Watch for it in a week or two.
upStream v1.1
The new version of upStream is here! Version 1.1 is on the Android Market right now and it adds many improvements to the Photosets and Groups functionality. Not only are the dialogs much snappier-looking, but they also allow you to find your photosets and groups using a quick search box and even create new photosets right in the application! This along with a few more bug fixes and performance improvements.
The next version of upStream is coming, but – unfortunately – it’s still several weeks away. Don’t think we’re resting on our laurels; we’re working overtime to give you something you’ve all been asking for. The next version is coming and it’s bringing something big with it.
upStream is on the Android Market!
Wow. It’s been a rough few months. If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to take a few days off and try to chase away the recurring dreams of pages upon pages of code.
The dreams… they haunt me…
